As we approached the structure, I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. It wasn’t a house or even an outbuilding. Just five pieces of wood appearing to be haphazardly put together. There were no windows, and the door must have been on the other side, because I couldn’t see one.
A car was parked in front of it, and we continued to step carefully to take a position behind it. I peeked in the car, noticing there was blood staining the back seat. My heart constricted, wondering whose it might be.
Augie nudged me and nodded toward the structure.
I focused and listened. I could hear raised voices, but the sounds were garbled, making no sense.
“We need to move in,” Liam said.
I pulled out my knife, thinking it would be a better fit for fighting in close quarters.
Caleb eyed my knife. “I’m going to steal that from you one of these days.”
I rolled my eyes. “Over my dead body.”
Liam glared at me. “Can we not talk about your dead body when we’re invading an unknown situation?”
I cringed at the stress in his voice. “Sorry, babe.”
We continued forward. When I was near the door, I heard a scream, and then people began fighting. I didn’t wait a second longer before kicking in the door, even as Liam yelled at me to wait. I wasn’t in control anymore. Instinct was taking over, and I knew I had to get in there.
The door fell to the floor, landing on two men. Jessica was tied to a chair, unmoving, with a nasty gash on her forehead that was healing on its own. Since she didn’t appear to be in immediate danger, I focused my attention on the two men on the ground. Sam was one of them and he appeared to be struggling out of the grasp of the other guy.
Liam and Augie pulled the door out of the way as Caleb tried to move me away from the fight.
“Help Jessica,” he said, but I ignored him.
My focus was on the man next to Sam, the one who had likely tried to kill Marshall but hopefully hadn’t succeeded. As I leaned forward to get my hands on him, two more men stormed in.
Caleb and Augie pushed them back out. The structure was too small for all of us to be there, and I was glad to have one less person in there trying to rein me in.
The momentary distraction gave the guy on the ground enough time to get up and he headed for me. I tucked the knife into my boot, deciding I could take this guy without any assistance.
He was already bleeding from either the door or Sam. His grey eyes narrowed on me as he growled. He opened his mouth to speak, but I didn’t give him a chance.
I pulled my arm back, then punched as hard as I could up into his jaw. His head snapped back, but he recovered fast and continued forward for more.
Liam must have agreed that I had a handle on things, because he reached for Sam and dragged him out of the way. Jessica was still slumped over in the chair, unconscious but out of the way.
The guy swung at me, but I ducked out of the way, sneaking in another hit, this time to his gut. He fell to the floor, groaning in the fetal position.
Well, that was easier than I thought it would be.
I turned for Liam. He had Sam up and settled into a chair next to Jessica. I glanced out the door just in time to catch Caleb and Augie fist-bumping. I was pretty sure neither of them would ever truly grow up and that made me smile on the inside.
I focused back on the shifter at my feet. He was still whining on the ground, trying to catch his breath. I gave him a solid kick in the ribs for good measure before taking the few steps to Jessica.
I reached for my knife to cut the rope off her, but my hand only felt laces from my boots. I thought maybe I stuck it in the other boot, but as I focused downward, I realized my knife was missing. I turned around just in time to see the guy I had thought was down for the count, glaring at me with my knife in his hand.
Time seemed to blur as several things happened simultaneously.
Augie yelled my name, Liam charged forward two seconds too late, and the man before me sank the knife into my side.
I howled in pain as Liam tackled him to the ground, the knife digging further in from the impact. Augie ran to my side, catching me as my knees started to give out, while Liam pounded his fists into the guy’s face until Caleb pulled him off.
“We need him alive, brother.”
Liam grunted, not wanting to stop, but I whispered his name, snapping him out of his rage.
He was at my side in an instant, grasping my hand as Augie lifted my shirt to inspect the damage.
“Augie, tell me she’s okay,” Liam demanded.
I felt pressure at my side and hissed in pain.
“She’s going to need some internal stitches if the bleeding doesn’t stop before we get home and her rib is probably cracked, but she’ll be good as new tomorrow.”
Liam’s emotions poured into me, causing tears to leak down my face. I had no control over it, which kind of pissed me off. As much as I loved our new bond, it had its burdens.
“Shhhh, it’s okay,” he whispered.
I wanted to tell him it was his fault for the tears, but I didn’t want to make things worse, so I sucked it up.
“Let’s just get out of here,” I mumbled. “Tie those twatwaffles up in the bed of the truck and head home.”
Caleb grinned. “I’d be happy to do that.”
We now had three of Declan’s men. Not rogue shifters he’d hired, but people who had hopefully been high enough up on the chain to give us information on where he was holed up.
Augie and Liam lifted me up. As I hobbled past the asshole who cut me, I kicked him in his face just hard enough that he should still be able to feel the pain when he woke back up.
Liam chuckled at my move but didn’t say anything about it. “Have a seat here. I’ll go get the truck. Augie, help Caleb finish tying the other one up.”
I winced in the seat, then attempted to cough to cover up the sound, but that only made the pain worse. I fought back real tears as the agony built up.
Liam eyed me, but I waved him off. We needed to get on the road and back where we had better cell service. I wanted to check on Jamie, Marshall, and the pack, and make sure nothing had gone awry while we were gone.
Minutes later, the truck crashed through the trees, coming to a halt as close as it could get to me without knocking me over. Liam had made his own path through the brush and I grinned. My dad was going to be pissed about the new scratches on the truck. Hopefully, the fact that I wasn’t dead would smooth things over.
The three guys hauled the dickbag shifters into the back of the truck. I sat in the chair, smirking at the rough treatment Declan’s men were receiving. They deserved so much worse, but being thrown in the back of a truck, hogtied, was a start.
“We’re going to need to take their car,” Caleb pointed out. “We don’t have room for Sam and Jessica, plus an injured Taya. I’ll drive that back with Sam up front and Jessica in the back.”
“I’ll drive the truck,” Augie said. “Liam can stay in the back with Taya.”
I didn’t like splitting up, even if Caleb would be following behind us, but he was right. There was no other way to get us all back to the pack comfortably in one car.
Liam and Caleb lifted me into the back seat as tears streamed down my face from the pain. Liam slid in next to me, and I settled my head in his lap as Augie started the truck.
“Gerald is going to rip you a new one,” Augie teased, looking back at Liam.
He shrugged. “He’ll understand when it was to prevent Taya from being in more agony. I wasn’t going to carry her further than necessary.”
Augie laughed. “Man, I was looking forward to him yelling at you for the first time, but you’re probably right. He’ll likely give you a hug and his thanks.”
Liam shook his head and I drifted off to sleep. I didn’t need to listen to their banter. My body needed rest, and a little bit of sleep on the way home would go a long way.
***
“What the hell happened to my daughter?” my dad’s voice growled from the open door.
Apparently, none of them had been smart enough to clue my dad in prior to our arrival. They probably had a lengthy conversation about whether letting him know in advance was better or not and were cringing inwardly now that their decision completely backfired. I wished I had been awake for the entertainment.
“I’m fine, Dad,” I mumbled. “Someone get me out of this truck.”
Multiple sets of hands reached for me and growls emitted from several overprotective men.
“Really, people?” I huffed. “I’m still bleeding like a sieve here and you’re going to fight over who gets to carry the princess inside?” I glanced around, noticing Caleb was the only one not acting like a caveman. “Caleb, can you help me into the house?”
He shook his head. “No way, Taya. I helped you once with one of your tricks, and I paid for it dearly. You’re on your own.”
I had forgotten about the time he helped me get Liam to open up by pretending he was willing to fill in for Liam when he refused to touch me under the same roof as my dad. That was a great night.
“Fine,” I said. “Someone just get me out without acting like a child.”
Augie backed up, giving my dad room to find a better position. Liam was still behind me, and together they slid me from the truck. Blood dripped down my stomach, and when I was upright, soaked into my pants.
I swayed on my feet. I’d lost a lot more blood that I realized.
“Alex is on his way,” Augie said. “She’s going to need more than a few sutures.”
“What happened?” my dad asked again, but this time his voice was much calmer. “You said you had everything handled. This is not handled.”
Well, the calm only lasted for a second, but it was still better than his tone before.
“Can we get inside first before we start discussing everything?” I asked. “Wait. How’s Marshall? Where’s Jessica and Sam?”
“I took Jessica in already. She still hasn’t woken up. Sam was feeling better when we arrived. He went home to shower and change already,” Caleb said.
My dad’s face fell, and I noticed Caleb hadn’t mentioned Marshall. I gave my dad a pointed stare until he answered.
“We met Jamie halfway, but the by the time we arrived, Marshall was already dead. Alex was with us, but there was nothing he could do.”
I nodded as my face hardened. Another pack member gone because of Declan. Every lost pack mate was another kick to the gut.
I raised my hands out to my dad and Liam, who was now out of the truck as well. They each took a side, carrying me inside just as Alex arrived.
His face paled. “You guys need to quit coming home like this.”
Once I was settled on a hospital bed, one that hadn’t been put away after we lost Davis, I closed my eyes again, trying to block out the pain.
Liam reached a hand out to me and I soaked in the love he sent my way, sighing in contentment. His love through our bond was better than any drug Alex could give me. Well, that was until the good doctor began poking around my open wound.
A string of curse words left my mouth, and I was certain I broke one of Liam’s fingers when my grip tightened on his.
“Sorry, Taya,” Alex said. “I have to do that at least four more times to stop the internal bleeding. The blade nicked a main vein. If Liam hadn’t been holding the shirt to your side, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. I need to make sure it’s mostly closed before we stitch you on the outside. Your wolf healing should take care of the rest.”
I breathed in and out, focusing on Liam and our bond the best I could for the several minutes of excruciating pain. It didn’t really help stop the pain, but it did make me feel better to know how much he loved me.
“That should do it,” Alex said. “You need to stay in bed for the next twenty-four hours to make sure those stitches don’t open up, but you can do that from your house as long as you’re slow and careful getting home. Don’t shower, either. That will only prolong your healing if you get the incision wet.”
Ugh. I had blood all over me. I really wanted a shower. My face must have said as much, because Liam leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“Don’t worry. I give an excellent sponge bath.”
I smiled at him. He really was the best at cheering me up.
“Get some good sleep,” my dad said. “We had two more attacks on the other packs, and each one is getting closer. We’re going to need you back with us as soon as possible. Liam, we’ll need you tomorrow while Taya is resting. We’re running out of time to find Declan first.”